Fold and Bond Construction of Cement Laminate Structural Shapes

Abstract

The ease with which fabric‐reinforced cement mortar laminates can be folded leads to studying the behavior of folded plate structural shapes made by this method. Sandwich panels having fabric‐reinforced cement mortar faces and rectangularly folded cores have been designed to maximize flexural stiffness per unit material cost. Folded‐core, fabric‐reinforced, cement laminate sandwich panels have been fabricated by scoring and folding the core laminate, then adhesively bonding the folded core to the face laminates. A design example illustrates a way to maximize panel bending stiffness per unit of material cost. Stiffness/weight ratios are compared with the ratios for some precast concrete panel sections. Potential applications include lightweight panels for building walls, roofs, and floors.